American Express Business Gold Rewards Credit Card is offering a FREE domestic round-trip airplane ticket for signing up! This is by far, the most lucrative credit card sign-up offer I have EVER seen! Sign up for their credit card, make a purchase, and they will credit your account with 25,000 points, which is redeemable for a round-trip domestic plane ticket. Better yet, sign up with your spouse / significant other, and go on a mini-honeymoon!
Alternatively, you can cash in your 25,000 points for a $250 rewards gift certificate, but I totally recommend you to take the plane ticket and go on a vacation. See membershiprewards.com to see a full list of gift certificates that you can get.

Although this is a business credit card, it is perfectly fine for individuals to sign-up. Simply put your personal name as your business name and leave the “Federal Tax ID” form blank, and they’ll assume that you are a sole proprietorship. I did this and I was approved instantly.

The annual fee is waived for the first year, but after the first year, there is a fee of $125/yr. Cancellation is not a problem, so keep this in mind if you don’t plan on using the card after you get your points.

Like I said, credit card sign-up offers like this are really rare, and this is a limited time offer from AmEx, so don’t miss out. Sign up now!

Fine Print from American Express

Apply for the Business Gold Rewards Card and make a purchase by 12/31/07. Upon the Basic Cardmember’s first purchase, a one time bonus of 25,000 points can be earned toward the Basic Business Gold Rewards Cardmember’s Membership Rewards® account and may appear as separate credits of 5,000 and 20,000 bonus points. The maximum 25,000 bonus points are available to first-time Basic Business Gold Rewards Cardmembers only; they are not available if you transfer an existing account. Welcome bonus points will be credited to your Membership Rewards account 6 to 8 weeks after your first purchase appears on your monthly billing statement. The bonus 25,000 Membership Rewards points may be redeemed for one domestic round-trip airline ticket.

Some readers have reported that the American Express card comes with a leaflet that states that you get 5k pts after first purchase and the other 20k pts only after spending $50k.

I have called American Express regarding this, and they informed me that all credit cards ship with the same generic leaflet, regardless of whether you signed up with the bonus code (through Bankaholic) or through regular channels.

The free 25k points deal is still valid. If you are not sure, call AMEX customer service at 1-888-826-3471 regarding bonus promotion 2329.

It is Sunday, July 29th, at 6:10 p.m. PST, and I just got off the phone with Amex. They described a different deal, where I’d have to make the $20k in purchases before I received the 20,000 in points (the first 5,000 points was no problem). I used the Promotional Code “2329” as you said to. The operator said she’d need a 14 character promo code, and she double checked with her shift manager and he confirmed the deal I mentioned is the best they have going right now. Bankaholic, are you saying just proceed with the deal and I’ll get what you are describing anyway? Is it preferable to apply on-line instead of over the phone, or the opposite? Thank you.

Paul said:on July 30th at 06:53 am

@ Lisa

where did you get the information that you get extra points when spending $500 by Aug.31st?

I think I got this offer recently…But I am so tired of signing up for new offers. I’ve got enough credit cards, even though this card is very attractive.

Sandy Borsky said:on August 18th at 02:20 am

I too am having trouble confirming with American Express that I will in fact get the 25,000 points. I have spoken with them twice, to 2 different people, and in each case was told that as far as they knew I would need to spend $20,000 before receiving the 20,000 points. In both cases they told me they would check into this code 2329(which they knew nothing about) and bankaholic and get back to me. I have heard from neither.

Sandy Borsky said:on August 18th at 02:46 am

Just spoke to Am Ex at 1-888-826-3471 again and was again told that I would need to spend $20,000 to get the 25,000 points. Can anyone sort this out for me? I sent my application in thru this website.

Sandy,
As far as I know, the promotion is still valid. The reason AmEx is confused a lot of the time is that they don’t really even know what offers are out there.

I’ve received 0 complaints from people who have applied for this offers, so I am fairly sure that you will have no problem getting 25,000 points after your first purchase. Most people have been getting credited within 2 to 3 weeks, but your experience may vary.

If worse comes to worse, take a screen shot of the AmEx offers screen and email it in to them. They have great customer service (especially their Business card services) and they should take care of you.

Please let me know if you run into any problems and I’ll see what I can do on my end. Keep in mind though that this offer expires 8/31/07.

Karen said:on August 20th at 08:12 pm

I signed up for this card and made my first purchase a month ago. I know that it says 6 – 8 weeks to post the points, but it appears that some people have received their points immediately. Am I the only one who’s still waiting?

Karen,
My college buddy signed up, and he received points on his online statement after 2 weeks.

Try calling AmEx Business and asking about your points. They have EXTREMELY good customer service.

Karen said:on August 21st at 02:40 am

Thanks for the response. I called the number on the back of my card earlier today, and they just said to wait 6-8 weeks and check again. Then I called the business number on the website, and after about 30 minutes online, the second person I talked to asked me to fax her a copy of the page I was looking at, because her information only said 20K points. And she told me I would have to wait 6 weeks. She was nice, but sadly, I’m not seeing this superior service….

I won’t have access to a fax machine until Wednesday so I’ll have to wait until then to send her this info. Keeping my fingers crossed. I had hoped to use this for an October business trip, but doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.

kelli said:on August 22nd at 05:13 am

it seems as though the southwest voucher option is no longer available. now all I see is the choice to transfer points to the southwest RapidRewards program. anyone else notice this?

Kelli,
I haven’t tried this myself, but my understanding is that approximately 24,000 AmEx points transferred to RapidRewards can fetch you a roundtrip voucher on Southwest Airlines.

If there is someone who has tried redeeming on Southwest, please leave a comment to share your experience!

kelli said:on August 22nd at 08:41 pm

ok, I went and checked it out on the southwest airlines website and I think I get how it works. It seems you transfer 24,000 AmEx points is equivalent to 16 of Southwest’s “RapidRewards” points, which you can then use to claim what Southwest calls an “award.”

***Automatically receive your Award in your account.
As soon as we post your 16th credit in 24 consecutive months, we’ll automatically deposit a roundtrip Award in your account. There are no complicated redemption processes or long waits before you can enjoy your rewards. As soon as we deposit your Award in your account, it’s available to use. We’ll also send you a reminder either via e-mail (through your Account E-mail Address) or by U.S. mail (which can take 14-21 days), so you’ll know your Award is waiting for you. Learn how to book your reservation using your free Award.***

It also seems like it is fairly easy to transfer the “award” if you want to give it away, or sell it.

***Give your Award to a family member or friend.
Rapid Rewards Awards are fully transferable, a program benefit that allows you to give your travel benefits to friends or family members.***

Thanks for the help.

kelli said:on August 22nd at 08:44 pm

ps. if southwest airline’s not your bag, you can do the same thing with jetblue, only for 25,000 points. I’m sure this will work for other airlines as well.

“Cardmembers transferring points to participating domestic airlines will be charged a fee of $.0005 per point, up to $75. This charge is to offset the excise taxes American Express currently pays to the government on such transactions. Bonus IDs: 9238 and 2329. ”

does anyone know what that is all about?

Jereme said:on August 29th at 02:35 pm

Does anyone know where the expiration for this offer is listed? I know people have been saying August 31, but the only date I’ve found on the application is 12/31/07. The way it is worded I would assume that the end of the year is the expiration for the offer.

§ To be eligible to earn bonus points you must be enrolled in the Membership Rewards® program at the time of purchase and charge your purchases to an eligible, enrolled American Express® Card. Apply for the Business Gold Rewards Card and make a purchase by 12/31/07. Upon the Basic Cardmember’s first purchase, a one time bonus of 25,000 points can be earned toward the Basic Business Gold Rewards Cardmember’s Membership Rewards® account and may appear as separate credits of 5,000 and 20,000 bonus points.

willskate4food said:on September 1st at 08:53 pm

I saw an ad on TV for this credit card offer, and it is September 1st. Maybe the offer is still going?

Karen said:on September 2nd at 12:57 pm

After a couple of phone calls to AMEX, I figured out that the points are available after you pay your balance. That makes sense, you have to make a purchase and pay for it. I was told that the 25000 miles would be available as soon as the balance was paid, so I’m going to do that right away.

paul said:on September 3rd at 02:43 am

@ Karen

I’ve paid my balance more than 6 weeks ago and still haven’t received the points. So let me know how it goes.

thank you

Jack said:on September 5th at 07:30 am

This offer says “Domestic flights”? Can I get the free airline tickets to Hawaii? Or is it only the CONTINENTAL U.S.?
Thanks

Just applied for a business card. Didn’t get approved instantly :(…19 year old w/o enough credit and 7 cards 🙁

Thai said:on September 14th at 08:45 pm

The “Airline Ticket” is not totally free.

Following is quote from Amex signup website:
“The bonus 25,000 Membership Rewards points may be redeemed for one domestic round-trip airline ticket. Cardmembers transferring points to participating domestic airlines will be charged a fee of $.0005 per point, up to $75. This charge is to offset the excise taxes American Express currently pays to the government on such transactions.”

I check out the list of participating airlines on AMEX’s site. I didn’t find United, which is the only airlines that flies out of this area, so called an AMEX rep. She said their ‘internal’ list had United listed. I called again the next day, doubting Thomas that I am, got another rep and he said United didn’t participate. I told him another rep said yes so he checked and told me if I book on the AMEX/travel site that United is a participating airlines. I’m a little nervous still. Anyone have any advice?

Catherine said:on September 29th at 07:31 am

I havn’t been credited the points yet, but I feel like I’m in limbo. My graduation is in December, close to Christmas, and I want to fly my mom out to see it. Have you guys had any luck booking the week before/week of Christmas? I’m afraid it is going to be blacked-out then. Thanks for your help!

I have a general question about the AmEx (and various other) credit card offers for reward points, etc. They all seem to say that you can earn 1 pt. for every $1 you spend on a “qualifying/eligible purchase.” I have several bills (utilities, car, cable, etc.) automatically paid through my credit card each month. Is this considered a “purchase” for the purpose of receiving reward points?

Hi! Love your site. Quick question about the amex offer – can you still get the business card if you’re already an amex cardholder? I noticed a section on the application asking about this. I also saw a pop-up ad advertising up to 40,000 bonus points for signing up for the card. Any news on this?Please advise. Thanks!

Hi, I did the sign up for 50,000 points. It was back in August and said I had to purchase a min of 500.00 by the end of August to get the points. FYI: I’m still waiting for my points.

scott said:on October 25th at 12:41 pm

Here’s an update on my experience:
Applied for & got the card in Sep;
Used the card and charged less than $10; paid the statement immediately; about 3 3 wks after statement posted (today, 10/25), the 25k points showed up in my Membership Rewards account.
Now — to actually use the points to get the “Free ticket”.
DO NOT try to sue them via AMEX online Travel service — they charge 100 pts per $, thus a RT BOS-LAX worth $453 costs 45k piunts. Called AMEX Memb Rewards — they said I have to go _direct_ to one of their (7) partiner airlines*. Make the res thru them and find out how many points reqd using that airlines FF system (eg SWA requires 24k points). Then go back to AMEX, do a transfer from Memb Rewards into the airlines points program — eg 24K points into SWA. Pay AMEX a transfer fee (rep said $0.50 per 1000 pts). Then go back to the airline, and “buy” your ticket using points from your new FF account.

Do I have to have an account with their partners airlines (eg SWA) in order to be able to transfer the reward points to the airlines reward program?

Jim said:on November 21st at 04:16 pm

Yes, you must have an account with the airlines before you can transfer points to that airline. Also, I just transferred 51,000 points to Jet Blue and it cost me $25.50 for the transaction, then canceled the card.

Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read anything like this just before. So nice to discover somebody with some original thoughts on this subject. realy thank you for beginning this up. this site is some thing that is necessary on the web, an individual having a small originality. helpful job for bringing something new to the internet!

Next time I read a blog, Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint me just as much as this one. After all, I know it was my choice to read through, but I really believed you’d have something interesting to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of crying about something you could fix if you were not too busy searching for attention.